Andrew MacDonald and Shayne Gostisbehere will be part of the Flyers' future after signing deals with the club on Tuesday

VOORHEES, N.J. – It wasn't too long ago that Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren called defense an "organizational weakness." In order to change that, he made a couple investments.

Tuesday he bolstered his blueline for the next few seasons by giving newly acquired Andrew MacDonald a six-year, $30 million extension and signing 2012 third-round pick Shayne Gostisbehere to an entry-level contract.

Both could have been free agents by next year.

Gostisbehere, who just won a national championship in Philadelphia last weekend with Union College, would have become a free agent next August had he gone back to school for his senior year. After winning a national title and being named MVP of the Frozen Four, he figured it would be better to take the next step with the Flyers rather than test free agency. The thought never crossed his mind.

"I knew what I needed to do," said the 20-year-old Florida native. "The Flyers are my team. They drafted me and they showed me that when they did draft me. Definitely not."

The 27-year-old MacDonald would have been an unrestricted free agent after this season if he hadn't re-signed with the Flyers. It was his first chance to make big bucks on the open market. Instead, Holmgren made sure he'll stay in orange and black for a while.

"The thought always crosses your mind," MacDonald said of free agency. "It's a couple months away, but since I came here I just tried to get a good feel for how I fit in and get used to everything, the systems and organization and everything. I was really happy with everything and before I got traded, I kind of identified it as a place I did want to look at if I did go into free agency."

While MacDonald, who led the NHL this season with 242 blocked shots, is in the Flyers' current plans, Gostisbehere isn't far behind. He will report to the Adirondack Phantoms Thursday for practice and play two games this weekend on an amateur tryout. His three-year contract starts next season. It's not out of the realm of possibility that he would end up starting the season with the Flyers.

"Not far-fetched," Holmgren said. "He's an exciting, young player. The way he plays the game, it's gonna be a big summer for him to continue to get stronger and prepare himself for the rigors of an 80-game schedule or thereabouts, depending on where he plays."

The 5-11, 173-pound defenseman wants to be 180 or 185 pounds ideally. After he won a national title in the arena of the team that drafted him, it was tough not to forego his senior year.

"I don't know if it pushed me, but what we did in Philly was a moment I'll never forget," said Gostisbehere, who had nine goals and 25 assists in 42 games for Union this season. 'It was a special moment and I wouldn't say my mind was made up. It was a family decision. I sat down with my folks and decided what was best for my development and that's what it was."

"My feeling was he was focused on winning the national championship, which was great that they were able to do that," Holmgren added. 'He wanted to move on after that. If they didn't win that last game, I'm not sure what they would have done."

For what uncertainty there was in Gostisbehere's future, MacDonald's seemed destined. He was traded to the Flyers at the beginning of March and it was clear the Flyers wanted to wrap him up with an extension from the get-go.

"Because of his age, we didn't mind six years," Holmgren said. "We talked about a lot of different scenarios, even longer than six years, but just settled on six."

The defenseman has four assists in 19 games since joining the Flyers and had four goals and 20 assists in 63 games with the New York Islanders before the trade. He was a top-pair defenseman with the Isles, but doesn't have to be that with the Flyers.

At least not this season. If Kimmo Timonen ends up retiring after this season, something the 39-year-old veteran says is still a question in his mind, the Flyers have the cavalry ready.

"I think scaling back the minutes allowed me to be a little more efficient and effective out there," MacDonald said. "I'm certainly not complaining about the minutes. It's great minutes that I've got here. If that's how they choose to use me, I'll be more than happy. As of right now, I'm happy with the role I'm in and looking forward. We're looking to do some damage here."